Current copper & brass prices

What's your opinion. Will they hold ?

Are you selling as it comes in ... or ... keeping it aside to sell later on ?

I'm letting my copper and brass sit with the other metals as I'm doing other things and I all but forget about the copper, brass and other metals.

I am getting some of the copper and brass sorted out by it's self as I come across it.

I've been busy pulling weeds and sorting through stuff clearing my pathways so it's easier moving things from one spot to another.

I bought 28 file cabinets a few weeks back at a bargain with most being mid to top quality. Most are 5 drawer HON and Steelcase. Also got some of the 4 drawer files that are wide with the file folders fitting the other way. I like those type the best as they don't stick out so far and fit in many places. Got some other odd files also.

So I'm getting space made to get them inside before winter comes.

I don't even know what the copper and brass prices are at the time.

The copper & brass prices are up. It seems like there are seasonal highs and lows every year but they seem to be holding steady this time around. I suspect inflation has something to do with it.

I hear ya on being busy. Seems like there's always a hundred things that have to be done in the summer. There's never enough time & energy to get it all done. I keep intending on making a run to the scrap yard but something else always seems to come up. I guess i'll eventually get around to it.

There seems to be a lot more interest in scrapping this year. Maybe it's because prices are up or maybe it's because money is getting a little harder to come by and folks are looking for a bit of extra coin on the side.

Nobody seems to be getting all that much with so many people trying to do it. It's too watered down.

Copper is tanking. It dropped like .60 on the market in 2 weeks. i saw this coming and dumped off my brass, copper, and ac coils.

The copper & brass prices seem to peak during the late winter months and then drop off as the warmer weather comes. I missed the peak this year. It came a lot later than i would have thought. Wasn't paying attention i guess.

Ohh well ... there's always later on. Maybe they will peak again next year.

I missed the peak a month or so ago too. #2 was over $4/lb but i thought it would go higher so i sat on it. It was only up for like a week b4 it started dropping again. I screwed that one up but oh well. I heard that fall is when it should rebound again but thats just an opinion of one of my fellow scrap people around here.

One of the market sites i check says that copper inventories are the highest since 2021 so that could be a problem. Another thing is i hear India is going to invest into infostructure so that might help prices a bit. Its also getting close to the election.

It sounds like they pay pretty well in your area. There are a couple of better paying yards here but i haven't seen much over $ 3.00/ lb for #2 and $ 2.00/lb for brass for the past six months.

I'm not sure what to make of it all. One trustworthy source was saying that copper production wasn't going to be enough to meet demand this year. Inflation should drive copper prices higher. PM's like gold and silver have done reasonably well. They tend to bring the rest of the metals along with them. The war in the middle east and the war in Ukraine have driven metals prices higher.

I think the thing i would watch for is an economic recession. That might hit after the election. I was studying the long charts for copper and one thing stood out. Copper prices tend to tank after a recession hits. Sometimes it can be a number of years before the price bounces back.

Originally Posted by hills

I was studying the long charts for copper and one thing stood out. Copper prices tend to tank after a recession hits. Sometimes it can be a number of years before the price bounces back.

I remember back in 2014 when copper was over $3 lb and dropped down to $1.60lb for a year or so. I think we may be in for a ride with this downturn.

It sure seems that way to me too. They've heated up the economy with so much government borrowing and spending .... there's got to be a cooling off period coming. I'm thinking maybe some time after the election in November.

I think actually predicting prices of copper and brass is way too difficult to do with any real degree of accuracy, and I’ve been ACTIVELY trading stocks for over 25 years.

You can try looking at charts if you’re so inclined. But you also have to consider extraneous factors like local surpluses or shortages, etc.

I just stockpile stuff in my backyard. When I have enough to fill up my SUV, I take it to the scrap yard. I usually get perhaps $50-300 for what I drop off. That’s such a small amount in the big picture that I’m not gonna get too hung up on whether something goes up or down 20-30%.

If this was the stock market (where I have a much larger percentage of my assets), that would be a whole different matter.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

I think actually predicting prices of copper and brass is way too difficult to do with any real degree of accuracy, and I’ve been ACTIVELY trading stocks for over 25 years.

You can try looking at charts if you’re so inclined. But you also have to consider extraneous factors like local surpluses or shortages, etc.

I just stockpile stuff in my backyard. When I have enough to fill up my SUV, I take it to the scrap yard. I usually get perhaps $50-300 for what I drop off. That’s such a small amount in the big picture that I’m not gonna get too hung up on whether something goes up or down 20-30%.

If this was the stock market (where I have a much larger percentage of my assets), that would be a whole different matter.

I think it depends on the volume. If it's something you do every day ... the 20-30% can be an important difference. If it's just something you occasionally do as a pastime activity then it's not really a big deal.

Talking business and talking about scrap metal prices is quite pertinent to the whole idea of the scrap metal forum.

Sorry if it's not of any particular interest to you. (Feel free to ignore the thread.)